New seniors’ lodge planning underway
By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Wheatland Housing Management Body (WHMB) is evaluating proposals for a new seniors’ housing facility – and the project could be “shovel-ready” as early as the fall.
WHMB had a demographic assessment performed that showed a high current need for seniors’ accommodations in the region, explained WHMB board chair Glenn Koester.
In 2019, there were 1,720 senior-led households in the region, 430 (25 per cent) of which are in need of senior housing, according to the report prepared for WHMB by Gordon and Associates Consulting Services. In 2016, 240 households were 85 years or older, showing a need for designated supportive living care units that provide on-site personal care and health care services.
This need is expected to increase, as the area has one of the highest growth rates of senior populations in the province, said Koester, who is also Wheatland County Division 6 councillor. By 2026, the region is expected to grow by 2,136 people aged 65 years and older, requiring 1,411 housing units, 20 per cent of which will require subsidized housing and care, according to the report. The 75 to 84 age group is predicted to increase by 91 per cent by 2029 and will require a combination of supportive living.
The idea for the new facility is to accommodate “aging in place,” said Koester. “You won’t have to move to Airdrie, Vulcan or wherever some of the residents have to go when they are looking for more care.”
WHMB is in the process of hiring an architect for the design of the facility. It has received proposals from 20 different architects in response to its request for proposal (RFP) and will interview some of them. “We’ve got a short list and we are going to try and come up with a good plan,” said Koester.
Strathmore town councillor Denise Peterson, another member of the WHMB board, said she is hopeful the successful RFP candidate will be someone with deep experience in the work of building senior’s facilities.
WHMB requested the facility to include about 100 large rooms, about 40 DSL 4 and DSL 4D (designated supportive living 4 and 4 dementia) rooms, and about 25 independent living rooms, as well as a hospice facility. But it is up to the architects to determine what the facility will look like and what its exact specifications will be, said Koester.
WHMB held one community meeting, before the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined consultation efforts, to help direct the decision-making process, he said. But now, the organization has partnered with Community Futures Wild Rose to restart engagement. The engagement approach has yet to be decided but may include surveys and group meetings.
“We want to get the whole community involved – we want to know their wants and desires and hopes and dreams,” said Koester. “If we want seniors to move to the area or stay here, we have to accommodate their wishes.”
The site for the new lodge has yet to be determined but will be off-site from the existing Wheatland Lodge. “We didn’t want to uproot any of the seniors there,” noted Koester. However, once the new facility is opened, the existing 95-suite lodge will no longer serve as a seniors’ lodge, according to WHMB.
Several sites are being assessed, but the design and engagement process should narrow down the possibilities, said Koester.
“When we come up with the design of a building that the community wants, it will probably only fit on certain pieces of land – that will take the political scrum out of it, maybe,” he said. “When all those factors are put together, maybe the land will pick itself.”
Funding for the project has not yet been secured. WHMB is trying to garner support from the government of Alberta, said Koester. “We’re hoping for a grant to build it.”
WHMB is hoping to have the project ready for construction in the fall, said Koester. “Once the community engagement is done, the architect can draw the schematic and we (can) get the land sewed up, then we will be shovel ready.”